Welcome back! This chapter will be shorter than usual, as it aims to introduce the Reapers and do a bit of character development with one of the characters. Just as a reminder, I am still running a poll on my profile to see which leisure story I should write. The poll closes May 1st. I'd really appreciate any feedback. Shoutouts:

blazelight790: Thank you! Yeah, it's going to be a long journey for the warrior Clans.

Thunderandshadowcats: Shoutout to your sisters! Good luck with whatever you are studying!

Birdflame: Thank God! These last few weeks of school are especially long.

Whisker Sage: No problem! He'll get better, don't worry. It'll just take time.

The featured story for this chapter is Imperfection by Heterica Oscurus Dementus. "A kit is born with a ghastly appearance, and along with his mother, is banished at birth. However, he later discovers that in his imperfection, he is perfect, and indeed better than those who mock and fear him." The writing style is quite different from what the majority of writers on this site use these days, being more formal than the standard form of writing style. The story is multi-chapter, but has yet to be updated beyond Chapter 1. Hopefully the author will update it soon, as it is a great story.

"The Reapers?" Rowanstar snarled. "I may not know what a 'reaper' is, but I can detect a hostile word when I hear one." The ShadowClan leader's fur was standing on end, his long claws fully extended.

Fleck smiled, an eerie smile that sent chills rolling up my spine. "We call ourselves the Reapers because we are the purgers of this society. We work to cleanse this city of all danger, from human to rabid dog. Only the most elite may join us, simply because we need the strongest warriors alive if we are to achieve our goals."

Despite Fleck's peaceful demeanor, Rowanstar continued to display immense hostility. "Anyone who calls themselves 'purgers of society' are completely untrustworthy. How do we know you won't all slit our throats while we sleep?"

"Mighty distrusting, are we not?" Fleck observed. His whiskers twitched, although his face remained expressionless.

"Of course I am!" he snarled. "I have every reason to be! We should just tear you all apart right now and be done with this nonsense! Right, Bramblestar?" He looked at me expectantly, as if he actually thought I'd agree with his idea.

I shook out my fur, not noticing until then that a thin layer of dusty filth had settled on my tabby pelt. "No, Rowanstar," I said. He gave me a disbelieving look, so I continued. "These cats have shown absolutely no hostility toward us. If they wanted to kill us, they would have ambushed us by now. You know how Twolegplace cats are. Reckless and impulsive." I knew these cats were clearly the opposite of that, but I also knew Rowanstar was too dense to see that.

Turning back to Fleck, I asked, "So why exactly are you out here greeting us, if your job is to rid this place of danger?"

The leader of the Reapers chuckled. "Ah, a naive one. I see. Well, tabby, let me explain. You see, not all of the danger this city suffers from comes within its borders. Outside forces are a problem, too. Wild animals often stray into the borders, as well as rogue cats looking for a soft kittypet to overpower for food. We simply had to check and make sure the lot of you weren't hostile. And you aren't." His gaze drifted to Rowanstar. "For the most part."

I blinked. "So, will you allow us access into your home? We promise not to stir up too much of a ruckus."

To my relief, Fleck nodded. "In fact, we might as well give you the grand tour. We can split your group up into smaller groups, and one of my cats each can take one."

Before I could respond, Rowanstar rushed forward, snarling. He was greeted by some hostile hisses from the Reapers as they stepped forward as well. I stiffened, expecting some sort of fight to break out, but nothing happened. Fleck simply waved his tail, and his cats backed down. I found myself impressed at the level of control Fleck had over his warriors.

"There's no way in the name of StarClan we're splitting our group up!" Rowanstar spit. "We just met you only a few minutes ago! How dare you suggest we split ourselves up and make us vulnerable to your betrayal!"

"You can trust us," Fleck assured him.

"Oh really?" The ginger leader hissed. "I don't trust rogues. Never have, never will. The answer's no."

I stepped forward. "Rowanstar, we have nothing to fear from these cats. Besides, it's not like they'll terribly outnumber us."

He whipped around to face me. "Think, Bramblestar! They may have more cats within the Twolegplace! We can't trust them."

"If you'd just listen to reason-"

"No!" His voice was rising to considerable levels now. "You've made every single decision since we left the lake! Well, guess what, Bramblestar. You aren't the leader of everybody. I am your equal, and I expect to be treated as such and allowed the ability to make decisions as frequently as you do! I will make the call this time, and the answer is no! We stay together!"

I stared him down with my coldest stare, hoping it was evident how irritated I was for speaking out against me in public like this. The reason I never let Rowanstar make decisions was because he was rash and impulsive. He made decisions without thinking them through first. Still, I knew that things would turn ugly if I continued to fight with him. So, I submitted. Even though I didn't like it, I did it. Bowing my head, I stepped back. "Very well."

Seeming pleased with his victory, Rowanstar backed off as well. I looked up toward Fleck. "We're ready when you are."

I tried to read the Reapers' leader's face as he studied me, but couldn't decipher any emotion. It was several moments before he turned around and flicked his tail. "Come. Stick close to us. Bramblestar, I'd like for you to walk up with me, so that I may get to know you better."

Before Rowanstar could protest about not being invited as well, I rushed forward. As soon as I got within close proximity of the tom, his smell overwhelmed me. He smelled like a combination of grime, crowfood, and monster. It was all I could do to keep myself from throwing up as we started into the Twolegplace.

"So," Fleck began. "Where is it that your group hails from? New Jersey?"

I blinked, having no clue what "New Jersey" was. Figuring I had just misheard him, I answered, "We're from a lake a great distance from here. We are the Clans, four groups of cats who live under a code of law. I am Bramblestar, leader of ThunderClan. The ginger tom who keeps challenging you is Rowanstar, leader of ShadowClan."

Fleck nodded slowly. "I see. You know, I have heard of the Clans before. The government has really been after you lately, according to the news."

I stared at him, dumbfounded. "The what?"

"The government," he repeated, as if I should know what he was talking about.

"I don't know what that is."

For the blink of an eye, surprise lit his gaze. "You don't? You really have no clue?"

I shook my head. "Where we come from, we don't use Twoleg terms."

"Twoleg? Oh. You must mean a human." Fleck sighed. "I suppose I'd better explain some things to you, then. The government is the name of the organization that leads the humans, or Twolegs as you call them. They took an interest in you because they've never seen such social cats before. The cats humans are used to having are mostly loners, only occasionally socializing with other cats. The way you built up your own system of organization must have surprised them so much that they want to capture you and experiment on you."

"Experiment?" I echoed. "What?"

"Ah, another term you are unfamiliar with. Let me give you the short story. If the government captures you and takes you away, they bring you to this place where they start doing a bunch of weird stuff to you. Sometimes it feels weird, while other times it hurts like hell. Most of the time they give you this special stuff that makes you sleep, though, so you don't feel a thing. It is strange. Be careful of it, Bramblestar. If one of your cats gets trapped within the government's hold, they will never return."

I felt sick, memories of Jayfeather and Barkfoot spiraling through my brain. Was the government experimenting on them at that very moment? I shivered at the thought of Twolegs putting their bald paws all over them.

Fleck carried on, either oblivious to my discomfort or choosing to ignore it. "The government have never shown much of a real interest in Raleigh, until now. They've been tracking your path with their tools. I don't know how it works or what exactly it is, but someone told me the device they use is called a satellite. They can watch your every move with it, from the sky. It sounds weird, but I know it's true. Government agents have been everywhere lately, scoping around and searching for any cats they deem a part of the social hierarchy you have."

I was quite disturbed by that point. There I was, thinking that fleeing from the lake would solve all of my problems with the Twolegs, these government creatures. And now, Fleck was telling me that they'd been watching the Clans and had followed us to Raleigh. I began to feel quite angry.

"I'm going to take you and your fellow warriors back to the official Reapers headquarters. There, you will be safe from the wrath of the agents. I hope you aren't planning on staying in Raleigh. You'll get everyone here torn to bits."

I shook my head. "This was just a stopping point for us to decide where we want to go to next."

He looked thoughtful for a moment. At last, he said, "Charlotte. It's quite a long distance from here, but it is further west. From what I heard, there are more agents in the east than the west. The further west you go, the less agents you will encounter."

"I don't know which way is west."

"We will point you on your way," Fleck assured me. "Don't you worry." He quickened his pace a little. "Now, I'm sure there are questions buzzing within your head about the Reapers. I have pried enough from your mouth. Now, it is time that you do the same to me."

I twitched my ear, not really sure where to start. Eventually finding a place, I asked, "So what inspired you to form this group in the first place?"

"I didn't form it," he replied. "My father's father did. The leadership of this group is passed down from father to son. My grandfather started it in memory of his mate and my father's mother, who was killed by a diseased dog running loose on the streets. He vowed to vanquish all danger from the confines of Raleigh, and make it a safe place for any cat to enter. The Reapers have worked very hard ever since to fulfill his goals, and we've made progress. Cats who once refused to move into the city due to its danger levels now consider it safe enough to live in. Of course, these agents pose a problem, but as long as we lay low they aren't a threat to us. Besides, it isn't like they're jumping to capture the normal cats."

I bristled at the suggestion that we were an abnormal group of cats, but forced myself not to protest it. I wasn't going to make him think I was like Rowanstar. "You said that you only accept the most elite warriors. What's your acceptance process?"

"We always take in the kits of current members. Any outsiders who want to join our ranks must take an extensive physical test to determine the absolute extents of their capabilities. As long as they live up to our standards, they will be allowed entry into the group. We used to have quite a few cats, but that changed recently when we got into a heated fight with a group of nasty rogues who strayed too far into our territory."

I nodded in understanding sympathy. "It's always hard to lose cats. We lost a lot when the... government attacked us. I can only hope we won't be losing any more any time soon."

A shadow passed over Fleck's face. "I wouldn't count on that. As long as these government agents are after you, cats will die. It is a hard truth, but one you must come to accept."

I didn't respond to that. Deep down, I knew he was right. Still, I didn't want to admit it. I couldn't. Something deep within me wouldn't let me admit that even more cats were going to end up dying.

All of a sudden, a deep-throated snarling echoed from nearby. It was soon joined by a chorus of howling that made my fur stand on end. All at once, the Reapers began snarling, unsheathing their claws and baring their thorn-sharp teeth.

"What is that?" I demanded.

Fleck's voice was grave. "The remnants of what I have come to call the Bloodhunters."

This chapter was probably not very good, but I needed to write it for the sake of explaining who the Reapers are. They will be playing an important role over the Raleigh section. I hate to end this chapter on another mystery appearance, but these newcomers will also be playing a large role over the course of the Raleigh section. Next week's chapter will be longer and much more exciting, I promise. We will find out who the Reapers are deep inside, and learn of something else that the Clans will have to deal with on top of all the pain and suffering they have already endured.